


Bea A. Fraid

by spikesgirl58



Series: Halloween Challenge 2020 [11]
Category: Sapphire and Steel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27245377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spikesgirl58/pseuds/spikesgirl58
Summary: Sapphire and Steel take on the local Spook House.  The ghosts are in for a bit of a surprise.
Series: Halloween Challenge 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975084
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	Bea A. Fraid

**Author's Note:**

  * For [janto jones](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=janto+jones).



For a long time, neither figure said anything, although with them, that wasn’t uncommon. Steel almost preferred to avoid speaking at all, but Sapphire wouldn’t hear of it. He smiled at his small joke.

“Something, Steel?”

“Yes, Sapphire. It is October 31st and you have told me that this is the time when the barrier between the living and dead is the thinnest. Why are we choosing to celebrate it in a graveyard?”

Sapphire laughed. “This isn’t a real cemetery, Steel.”

That surprised him. “It… it isn’t?” He looked at the various headstones, some in better condition than others. 

“Of course not. Have you read any of the stones?”

“Unless the stone contain steel, it would be a very short conversation.”

Again, Sapphire laughed. “Oh, Steel, what are we going to do with you? I meant the carving upon the stone.”

Steel glanced at the first one. “Chris P. Bacon, burned at the stake.” He made a face, “Monsters. All of them are monsters.”

“And this one…?”

“If you can read this, you need a hobby.” He blinked. “What?”

“Or this one – Room for rent, One very small bed room. Neighbors are dead quiet.” At Steel’s deer-in-the-headlights look, she pointed to another. “Bea A. Fraid. Steel, they are jokes.”

“Dead people are humorous?”

“These aren’t real gravestones. They aren’t even stone, merely Styrofoam made to look like it. Our goal is that house over there.”

He followed her point. There was a lone house, but it seemed very popular. There was a line out front and young people jostled each other and laughed. “It has attracted quite a crowd.”

“Yes, they call it a Spook House. It’s something humans like to do at this time of the year. They like to scare each other.” Sapphire carefully picked her way between the gravestones to the path. “Come on.”

“I thought being scared was bad.” Steel followed, albeit a bit reluctantly.

“Normally it is, but it’s fine in this situation because it’s controlled and expected. They want to be scared.”

Steel shook his head slowly. “Perhaps I need reassignment. The more I know about humans, the less I understand them.”

Sapphire held out her hand and he took it reflexively. “They are confusing, but they are nice.”

Steel studied the crowd as they grew closer. “Those appear to be young people as a rule.”

“It is more of a young person’s pursuit. I suppose to closer you get to the end, the less you want to be reminded of it.” Sapphire’s attire became less formal, shifting from her usual blue dress to that of jeans and an oversized sweatshirt.

“Why are we here?” Steel seemed less inclined to abandon his traditional three piece suit, but settled upon dark slacks and a sweater, although neither felt the cold.

“We are here to make contact with a ghost.”

“Come again?”

“A ghost!”

“Where?” shouted a teen and his friends giggled. Sapphire looked in his direction, her eyes blazing blue. The boy shrunk back and returned to his friends.

“A ghost,” she repeated, quieter this time. “There is a spirit in this house who is about to take advantage of the timing and leave. We are to convince him to stay.” She held up a hand to Steel as a young man exited the house and stood upon the porch. The good-natured ribbing in the crowd stopped and he held up a microphone.

“Many years ago, a family lived here. A mother, father, two boys and a girl happily made their home within these walls. Life was good, but then one Halloween night tragedy happened. The children were carving pumpkins to use as jack o’ lanterns and one of them lit a candle. It caught the tablecloth on fire and all but one member perished as a result. After that, the house was purchased by an out of town interest and rebuilt. Over the years, there have been many renters, but no one stays past October 31st.”

“Why’s that?” someone from the crowd shouted.

“Apparently, upon Halloween night, their dying screams can be heard. They are so chilling, so horrible and so tragic that it drives people from the house.”

A few people started to walk away and the man called after them. “Please, don’t leave.”

“I won’t make light of another man’s tragedy,” was the response.

He watched them walk away sadly, but then seemed to brighten as Sapphire and Steel joined the crowd. “Ah, two more. Come, there is room.” He gestured to the house. “While the house was rebuilt, there are still parts that remain weak, so I will ask that you not stray off but stay with the group. I promise this will be a night you will never forget.”

He led the group into the entrance hall and to the kitchen. The lanterns set upon the counter tops brightened the room, even as their flames cast dancing shadows on the wall.

“This is where it started. The children were working at the kitchen table and they were busy carving the pumpkins. The knives were sharp and the girl, Lizzie, cut her finger. The oldest boy, William, took her upstairs to take care of it and warned Henry, the younger boy, not to use the knives while he was gone. Instead, Henry decided to play with the candle and matches instead.” The young man paused, running his hand along the edge of the table. “He was always a bit of a firebug, you see. He shouldn’t have been left alone.”

“What happened?” Sapphire’s voice was quiet.

“He caught the tablecloth on fire. Afraid that he would be punished, he ran out that back door.” The man pointed. “And he hid in the woods. He hid there while the house burned. He watched it all.”

“Whoa!”

The young man smiled at that. “Yes, indeed, whoa.”

“Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore and he tried to get in to help his family, but it was too late. The living room roof collapsed upon him.” There was a follow me gesture and the group moved on. “They found the mother, here at the base of the stairs. They gave way while she was running outside with Lizzie. The father, he died on the front lawn, succumbing to his own injuries. 

“That’s only four. What happened to the older brother?”

“He tried to put the fire out. He was horribly burned, but he survived, if you could call it that.” 

There was a noise, a sharp crack from the upper floor of the house and the group spun and gasped as one. 

“And it begins. The flames spread from the tablecloth to the wood paneling and channeled up the register. William heard a noise in his bedroom and went to investigate. When he opened the door, a fireball exploded out. It knocked him from his feet and tore down the hall, trapping Lizzie in the bathroom.”

He started to walk up the stairs. “Come. I will show you.”

“No.” Sapphire came to the front of the crowd. “I think this has gone on long enough. Steel, get these people out of here.”

“No one asked you, lady!” A boy shouted from the back. “I wanna see where they burned.”

“Are you going to show them, William? Set them on fire? Use them and their energy to pass to the other side?” She asked. “Or is it just enough to terrify them?”

A murmur rippled through the crowd and one girl started to cry. “I didn’t want to do this anyhow!”

She ran for the door, but it refused to budge. The young man, William smiled. “Looks like you’ve got no choice. None of us do.” He faced Sapphire and glared. “I didn’t want to stay behind. They wouldn’t let me go.” He started to keen, an unnerving sound. “I just want to be with my family.”

“Not tonight, I’m afraid.” Sapphire pointed to the door. “Steel, would you be so good?”

Without a word, Steel walked to the door and yanked. The knob came off in his hand. He shrugged and kicked the door. The door flew outward, startling the people waiting there for the next tour. He stepped aside just in time to avoid being trampled.

“I’m afraid these tours have been cancelled.” He looked over his shoulder at Sapphire and the man.

“I’m sorry, William. This is not your time.” 

“I still have you!” William grabbed her, then gasped. “Not human. You’re not human.”

“Nor are you, I’m afraid. You are the one who started that fire, William, not your younger brother. This is your Purgatory, William, and you will remain.”

Sapphire stepped out the door as William screamed and the flames began to burn bright behind her.


End file.
